The people of Puerto Rico are still in desperate need of help as this report by Vox clearly illustrates:

Lives surely have been saved in the response. But images and reports from the ground tell a story of people, cut off from basic supplies and health care, dying. They tell of hospitals running out of medication and fuel for their generators and struggling to keep up with the “avalanche of patients that came after the hurricane,” as one journalist put it.

The death toll from the hurricane is now up to 45, according to Gov. Ricardo Rosselló. But 90 percent of the 3.4 million American citizens on the island still don’t have power, and 35 percent still don’t have water to drink or bathe in. And given how deadly power outages can be, 45 deaths seems low, according to disaster experts.

Vox found the official death toll to be a little suspicious, so they did a deeper dive:

We searched Google News for reports of deaths in English and Spanish media from Puerto Rico since Hurricane Maria. We found reports of a total of 81 deaths linked directly or indirectly to the hurricane. Of those, 45 were the deaths certified by the government. The remaining 36 deaths were confirmed by local public officials or funeral directors, according to the reports. We also found another 450 reported deaths, most of causes still unknown, and reports of at least 69 people still missing.

The broader issue here relates to how storm deaths are counted. There are clear deaths from the storm, clear deaths indirectly from the storm, and then deaths that are harder to determine — for instance, a sick patient who died in a hospital experiencing frequent power outages. And then there’s the issue of how effective authorities are at finding and investigating the deaths to make sure they’re included in the count. The breakdown of these categories suggests that the government is being much more cautious in designating deaths as directly or indirectly hurricane-related, given the public information available.

As Rachel Maddow pointed out on her show last night, a number of these fatalities were NOT the result of the initial hurricane, but the occurred in the aftermath because of a lack of food, water, or medical care.

And the death toll will only climb even higher if Trump pulls the relief effort.

But hey, why would he care?

After all these are only mostly brown people who cannot even vote in a presidential election.

Hell, Mike Pence just pissed away a quarter-of-a-million of us taxpayers' dollars to throw a pissy fit in a footbal stadium. Now imagine if that same quarter-million went to help the people of Puerto Rico, instead. That would pay for a lot of bottled water and food.

Trump hates Puerta Rico. He just learned it is part of the US and that pissed him off big time. He wants them to all go away, expire, die, whatever it takes. Not to be his problem, just go away.

General Kelly just gave a terrific speech. Now we real Americans can feel good about the White House since he put down all those fake news stories. General Kelly is not quitting and he is not being fired.

“I ask every American that has love, and not hate in their hearts, to stand with Puerto Rico and let this president know WE WILL NOT BE LEFT TO DIE. I ask the United Nations and UNICEF and the world to stand with the people of Puerto Rico and stop the genocide that will result from the lack of appropriate action of a president that just does not get it because he has been incapable of looking in our eyes and seeing the pride that burns fiercely in our hearts and souls.”

"Military site Task and Purpose was the first to notice Trump sitting during the song. According to Task and Purpose, uniformed service members are required to stop what they're doing and salute the flag as its lowered during the song while civilians are REQUIRED to place their hand over their heart."

Former Republican member of congress: 'Trump is unhinged. We are waiting to get tax bill through before impeachment''He’s not listening to anyone. Not a soul. He’s got the nuclear codes and, well, it scares the hell out of me. It’s starting to scare all of them'

Would that dumbass dubya used this same logic several lifetimes ago when dealing with illegal invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. Can't stay there forever boys. In and out has been running for nearly a decade and a half.

VOX report states over 400 bodies are being stored in various places until they can be processed...they are not on the death toll list because they have yet to be 'verified'.

PS: a bible belt bomber attempted to blow up airport in North Carolina on Friday. Trump hasn't come up with a nickname for him...Little White Devil does feels like a start. The flag pinned White Devil said he said he was preparing to “fight a war on U.S. soil,” https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2017/10/10/bomb-airport-ammonium-nitrate-fuel-oil-mix-suspect-make-first-appearance/749394001/

"He is charged with attempted malicious use of explosive materials and unlawful possession of explosive materials in an airport."Estes told investigators he "staged" in the woods near the airport a couple of days before placing the device at the airport."

One of the Democratic Party’s most prominent financial backers is demanding that lawmakers and candidates on the left support removing President Trump from office, putting pressure on Democrats to make Mr. Trump’s ouster a defining issue in the 2018 midterm elections.

You should go and live in PR for a few years. Methinks you might have a revised viewpoint once you have seen the outright corruption, and the lack of maintenance of infrastructure and disaster preparation firsthand. Much of the less populated and rural areas of the island have limited access and infrastructure to begin with, if roads to those areas become impassible.. you are basically screwed until cleared or repaired. Trump is playing with his twitter, but the emergency response and fema will be there until the island is back to its old crappy self.

To end on a good note, it is very pretty place and most people are generally nice, but things can happen if you are foolish. Some decent food and endless fresh fruit, but never developed a taste for the islands dish 'mofongo', it is simply unappetizing.

About Me

This blog is dedicated to finding the truth, exposing the lies, and holding our politicians and leaders accountable when they fall far short of the promises that they have made to both my fellow Alaskans and the American people.